Champion Paperback – 21 Oct 2013

Whilst this might fit the mould of YA Dystopian novels in every possible way (hello corrupt society, trials to prove your worth, rich vs poor, power hungry officials, a forbidden romance and a rebellion just in sight) but it's so addictive and moves so quickly that I didn't actually care that it might not have been super original. I mean, if I'm honest, I'd probably read a cereal box if Marie Lu had scribbled on it.Day is a boy living in the poor sectors. Sectors riddled with plague. And he is doing everything he can, mostly undercover even from his family who think he's already dead, to try and make the lives of the poor that little bit easier. He's after the cure for the plague, and he'll do whatever it takes to sabotage the more elite government to get his hands on a vial.June is a Prodigy. Scoring 100% on the Trials, a series of tests all children must take to determine their rank in society, she's enabled herself to slip right into a government job alongside her successful brother. Until Day murders him. Now she will stop at nothing to capture Day and get her revenge. Of course, with a corrupt government running the job it's only a matter of time before June begins to unravel the truth behind what is happening in the poor sectors, and the real story behind her brothers murder.I think the ideas within this book are pretty generic, we've definitely seen them before in this genre, but what's interesting is the execution. The pacing of the story is fantastic, and the book and chapters are quite short, so everything moves along really quickly. I don't know why but this always makes a book seem so much quicker and easier to stay in interested in! Equally the split narrative really worked - I'm not usually a fan of juggling multiple perspectives in my head but June and Day's alternating voices really complemented each other. They aren't the most interesting of characters, but for some reason I liked them anyway! Bizarre.I did struggle with the romance. Not because it was particularly instalove-y (although it was). This would usually bother me. But what niggled at me more was that both of the characters should absolutely loathe each other, as each of them holds some alleged responsibility for the death or suffering of one of their family members. For me, even having a hand in such an act would be enough for me to shove you straight onto my "I hate your guts forever more" list. But not in this case. There seems to be no consideration in fact for either character even really contemplating forgiveness - they just hand it out like animal crackers in the playground! Pretty frustrating and a bit too convenient for my liking.So whilst this was far from perfect, I really liked the world building and the action kept me hooked so I'll definitely be interested to see how this develops in the next book.

In a dystopian world, Day is a teenage boy on the run from a government who want him dead. June is the government's prodigy - the only to every score 1500 in the Republic's exam. When June's brother is killed by Day, June vows to avenge his death. While undercover, June meets a blonder haired kind boy, with an imperfect eye and a limp to his step. But surely this couldn't be the stone cold killer who took away her brother? And does she have the heart to bring him in, where he will surely be killed himself?WOW.Why haven't I read this book sooner? I am literally slapping myself for only discovering the fantastic mind of Marie Lu now.I just need to say one thing. Day = BAE. What. A. Babe!I felt the premise of The Republic and its closed off world very good, and realistic. While we were't told too much about it, I could understand the kind of world that June and Day were living in and even more so when June went undercover and travelled around different parts of the poorer community that she had prevously scorned.While June is definitely a character you warm up to - I'm not actually sure she could ever be described as a 'warm' character, it's not her nature, Day was mine from the first. I really connected with him, and I felt like it didn't long to know and understand him. He was very genuine and true - from his care of his family, to his gentle friendship with Tess.There was an immediate chemistry between Day and June, and while I'm not 100% sure we haven't seen the last of the Elector's son, though he was only in it for five seconds, i feel like June and Day have found that missing part.The plot of June finding out many things she believed in wasn't strictly true was written well. I did feel she could have hurried up on it, you know being so smart and all. She's actually rather annoyingly cocky and almost overconfident when it comes to her smarts.Following the completion of June's mission, the novel slowed up a bit for me. It felt like a lot of it was June just going back and forth from her apartment and thinking about things. But eventually, the action resumed and that ending, ugh, so bittersweet.Really looking forward to the rest of the trilogy, which I have ordered already!

Wow I purchased this and the other two books in the trilogy in 2015 so that shows how long it sometimes takes me to get around to things!This is now an oft done tale - the evil society, those that would oppose it, a young adult who believes in her leaders until something happens that throws her out of her comfort zone- but this is an excellent version of that with some interesting characters and a good set up.I think this was a great start but feel the story has barely kicked in, I'm looking forward to the other two books and what is next for June and Day.